N.B.Before reading the following four articles the
reader is requested to carefully re-examine an article in
our issue of June last under the caption, "Sons of God and
Daughters of Men."

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"Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the
just for the unjust, that he might bring US to God,
being put to death in the flesh but quickened
[in] spirit.
By which also, [in addition to this
work done for US] he went and preached unto
the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient,
when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah."1 Pet. 3:18-20.

A satisfactory interpretation of this
Scripture has long been sought, and but
few have found a solution perfectly consistent
and satisfying to themselves.
Under the increasing light of the Lamp
it is now becoming clear, to us at least.

The two views of the passage commonly
held we shall state first, and then
give our present views.

The most common view is, that during
the time that Jesus was entombed
he was off on a missionary tour preaching
to the antediluvians.
It is part of
this view that the antediluvian sinners
were suffering torture in a place they
call hell.

If its advocates would consider it, they
would find that their interpretation
favors a view of future probation for the
antediluvians, a thing which they strenuously
oppose.
For if Christ preached
to them it must have been for some purpose,
and surely it was not to merely
mock and deride them; his preaching
must have been a message of hopea
part of his blessed "good tidings of
great joy."
And if there is a future probation
for the antediluvians, why may
not our position be correct, that in
Christ all the families of the earth shall
be blessed?

This is the objection which consistency
would urge against this view from
the standpoint of those who hold it.
But if we view it from the scriptural
standpoint, and with the correct idea of
death, we must reason that if Jesus was
really dead during those three days, as
the Apostles declare, then he could do
no preaching, for "the dead know not
anything," (Eccl. 9:5), and "there is
no work, nor devices, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave." (Eccl. 9:10.)
Secondly, if Jesus had been an
exception to the rule and could have
preached, the antediluvians could not
have heard, for certainly they have no
wisdom, nor knowledge, in the grave.
Hence this view is found generally unsatisfactory
and out of harmony with the
Scriptures.

The second view, and the one which
seemed most reasonable to us until recently,
is to refer the preaching to that
which Noah did under the direction of
the Spirit of God to the antediluvians,
who at this time are imprisoned in
death.
The objection to this view is
that the preaching was not done to men, nor to the spirits of men, but to spirits, spiritual beings; and the preaching was
not done by Noah, nor by the Spirit of
God, but by the death and resurrection
of Jesus.

As we at present see the subject, it
seems very clear that the spirits are
those spiritual beings whose disobedience
took place during the days of
Noah, and whom God therefore imprisoned
or restrained in some of their
former liberties and privileges; even
"those angels who kept not their own
principality, but left their own habitation
[or normal condition] he has kept in
perpetual chains, [restraints,] under
thick darkness, for the judgment of the
great day." Jude 6.Diaglott.

This interpretation seems to meet all
the circumstances of the case thus far.
Now we inquire, In what way could
Jesus preach to these during the time
he was dead?
We answer that it is not so stated.
It was by the facts that he
preached, as we sometimes say that
"Actions speak louder than words."
It was by his sufferings, death and
resurrection that the preaching was
done.
Thus, as Jesus went from step
to step in his work, his course was
preaching a grand sermon to those
angels who once had been placed in
control of man, and had themselves
fallen instead of lifting up mankind.
In
Jesus they saw exemplified obedience
even unto death, and its rewardresurrectionto spiritual being of the DIVINE
NATURE.
Such was the great text, and
the lesson from it is stated by the Apostle
in verse 22, viz., that Jesus was
now highly exalted and given a name
[title] above every name was "gone
into heaven, and is at the right hand of
God [position of highest favor]; ANGELS
and authorities and powers being madesubject to him." They knew Jesus before
he left the glory of the heavenly
condition and became a man.
They
knew the object of his self-sacrifice as a
man.
They saw him obedient even
unto death and then his high exaltation
came as a reward (Phil. 2:9).
They
must have felt keenly their loss through
disobedience, cut off from communion
with God, restrained as unworthy of
former liberty and communion with the
purer minded of mankind, and their
own future an unsolved mystery.
We
can but imagine that sorrow and
chagrin filled their hearts as they contrasted
their course of disobedience and
its results with Jesus' obedient course
and its majestically grand results.
We
can fancy them saying, Would that we
had realized before as fully as we now
do the wide contrast between the results
of obedience and disobedience.
Would
that we might have another trial; with
our increased knowledge our course
would be very different.

A clear distinction should be borne
in mind as between Satan and these
angels.
Satan evidently sinned against
great light, so that infinite wisdom finds
no place to do more for him.
His was
not a temptation to sin from bad example
in others, as was the case with
the "angels who sinned" in the days of
Noah, being led into evil by their contact
with fallen man, for Satan is the
father of lies and was a sinner prior to
man's fall, and was man's tempter.
With reference to Satan nothing is
stated in Scripture to indicate a future
trial; but, to the contrary, it is expressly
stated that he is to be "destroyed."Heb. 2:14; Rom. 16:20; Rev. 20:10.

If those angels which sinned are to
have a future trialduring the Day or age
of judgment [or trial], it follows that there
is hope for them.
If then under the able
instruction and assistance of the glorified
church they forsake sin and lay hold
upon righteousness, they shall be accounted
worthy of everlasting life and
happiness.

If we find no Scripture statement contradictory
of thisno statement telling
of their destruction, may we not have
hope for them and search for some
Scripture statements favoring that hope?

We find but two statements apparently
contradictory; the one is (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; Matt. 8:29),
"Art thou come to destroy us before
the time?"
This shows us that these
imprisoned spirits had in mind destruction
or torment as their final
doom, but it by no means proves that
their suppositions were correct, no
more than for some of the so-called
Orthodox to believe that nine-tenths of
humanity will be everlastingly tormented
would be a proof of it.
The fact is
that we find Satan, the master teacher
who has taught men to thus blaspheme
God's character through misrepresentation
of his plans, was the master and
chief over these cast-down spirits, and
evidently had misrepresented Jehovah's
plans to the imprisoned spirits as he has
to men.
He is the father of lies.

The second text is (Matt. 25:41),
"into everlasting fire, prepared for
the devil and his angels."
This cannot
be used as an argument against
a hope for a probation for the imprisoned
spirits, for though by force of circumstances
and restraint from any other
service, they are now, Satan's angels or
messengers or servants, yet they maynot always be such, IF an opportunity
were granted for them to return to
God's service and be angels of God.
The passage relates to the "lake of fire"
or destruction into which at the close of
the Millennial age all are to be cast, who
are out of harmony with God.
Satan
will be of those cast into that everlasting destruction, and with him all who do
unrighteousness or have pleasure thereinall of whom, spirits or men, are
reckoned to be on his side, his angels
or messengersevil doers shall all be cut
off from life.
To cut off such, and such
only, was God's plan from the beginning,
for such only, destruction and
cutting off from life forever was
designed.